The first day proper of our bicycle camping adventure in Taiwan would take us from Koahsuing to Fengang along the west coast. A tough start with a couple of flat tires. This turned to be the coldest day in Taiwan in over 70 years and we covered just over 78km, before having to stop due to bad light.
Category: Travel
-
Bicycle Camping in Taiwan, Day 1: Koahsuing to Fengang
-
Bicycle Camping in Taiwan
Bullet train from Taipei to Kaohsiung At the end of January this year I decided to take well deserved break. A cycling and camping holiday around the island of Taiwan with my good friend Ning. Our journey would take us across and up the east coast of the island covering over 500km in a total of seven days. We’d experience some fantastic scenery and have a unique perspective of one of the most friendly and diverse parts of east Asia. From the city, to the coast, to the jungle and mountains. Cycling Taiwan wasn’t without it’s challenges, but overall it was a very enjoyable and worthwhile experience.
-
Ultra Trail Hong Kong 100
This was monster of a race. 106km with a total ascent of 4,500 meters over some brutal trail. Not for the faint hearted and a good bit harder that anything I’d previously ran. The race took almost 21 hours to complete and left me shattered but happy to have finished what would be only my second 100k trail race. -
The 1st Nanjing International Marathon: Running as an Elite Runner
In the 1st Nanjing International Marathon I was honored to start at the front of the pack competing as an elite runner. This was thanks to a special invite from my good friend Fred at Event Animals who ask me to join three other international runners to represent the AT3 triathlon team. Although I’m not normally a very fast marathon runner by most standards, I did manage a half decent time and found myself being interviewed by the local television, the newspaper and marathon organizers after the race. I also had the unique opportunity of experiencing the race build-up from the perspective of the proper fast elite athletes. A real privilege and a very nice experience. -
Gui Zhou Tour of Lei Gong Mountain International 100km Ultra Trail Challenge 2015, Day 3 Zhen Yuan
This would be the last day of the Gui Zhou Tour of Lei Gong Mountain International 100km Ultra Trail Challenge 2015 and the last 21km of my 105km multi-day running adventure. 85 kilometres down and 21 to go. This final stage of the race would start off in the beautiful town of ZhenYuan (镇远: far town) with a 50 meters climb out, then back to finish in the town centre with screaming crowds and narrow cobbled streets. For me this would be a classic case of the second-wind, with a sluggish start and a speedy finish. -
Gui Zhou Tour of Lei Gong Mountain International 100km Ultra Trail Challenge 2015, Day 2 Leishan
Day two of the tour of Lei Gong mountain brought us to the beautiful LeiShan (雷山), the thunder mountain. This would be an out-and-back on tired legs up and down the valley of the river Danjiang. A marathon after a day of running a marathon with the certainty of a tough half marathon the day after. Not a prospect for the faint hearted but a fantastic experience and a great day out in the mountains of Guizhou. -
Gui Zhou Tour of Lei Gong Mountain International 100km Ultra Trail Challenge 2015, Day 1 Kaili
The Gui Zhou Tour of Lei Gong Mountain International 100km Ultra Trail Challenge 2015 would be my first multi-stage race covering over 105km in the stunning Lei Gong mountain area of the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture in south-eastern Guizhou province. This would consist of two marathons and a half-marathon road race over three consecutive days from the 13th to 15th of November. -
Shanghai International Marathon 2015 – running against the wall and Boston qualifying
Sunday the 8th of November would mark the 20th anniversary of the Shanghai International marathon. This would be my 8th race at this distance and another attempt at a Boston marathon qualifying time of 3 hours 15 minutes. I’d been training hard all during the hot summer and stepped up to running virtually every day in the autumn. So, despite a disastrous Leicester marathon two weeks prior, where I seriously fell apart around the 35th kilometer, I still had the BQ time on my mind. -
Shanghai 10 Bridge Half Marathon
Pensive, with fruit. This article looks back to Saturday the 18th of October 2014 and the first official Shanghai 10 Bridge Half Marathon. This started off in Hongqiao, ran along the Wusong River finishing on the Bund on the banks of Huangpu river in the historic center of the city. Quite an ambitious route considering that no roads were closed for the race and Shanghai is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Thankfully the route was well marked and no-one got lost. It was also a great day to be out running with pleasant weather and clean air (this contrasted heavily with the scenes beamed back from the Beijing marathon with thick smog and record pollution levels). I finished well in 2nd place but left with a sprained foot for my troubles. Two months later and I’m just back in training, but I’m really glad I managed to catch this race before my enforced time-out.
-
Southill Sponsored ‘Walk, Jog, Run’ 5k or 10k
I’ve ran along the banks of the Seine in Paris, through the black forest in Germany, in the gritty Streets of New York and over the bridges of old Shanghai, but the somewhat less glamorous sounding Southill just outside Biggleswade in Bedfordshire will always hold a special place in my heart. This would be the scene of the inaugural Southill Sponsored ‘Walk, Jog, Run’ 5k or 10k and the site of my first proper race win. The course cut through some classic English countryside and the funds raised helped the local community raise cash to install a defibrillator in the disused Southill phone box. A good cause and a great run.
The Start
